Actor

1-29-18 From the time he was “smaller than a pickle,” Dan Leary’s mother told him stories of the amazing Sir Dan and his adventures. So is it any wonder that he grew up to love, invent and tell stories himself. Listen to Dan describe a childhood full of stories and poetry and come and see the result of all that training and love of stories when Dan presents The Sleeping Child a one man performance of his own invention at the SaraSolo Festival on Sunday Feb 3rd at 3:00 at Crocker Memorial Church

1-22-18 3-9-16 George Tynan Crowley had a mystical experience at the age of 7 when he spontaneously volunteered to read the prayer at communion and knew that he was meant to “speak out.” From then on he followed this path to speak out by becoming an actor, director, writer, and producer. Listen to this charming, articulate man talk about his work in theater and film, his belief in the power of theater to transform lives and his personal philosophy of life. And come see him Heisenberg the current production at Florida Studio Theater

12/19/17 and 12/26/17 Parts 1 & 2. The irrepressible, outrageous, talented, generous and at 82 (he is actually 88 now) still sexy and still acting, Ed Asner. Best known for his portrayal of the curmudgeonly Lou Grant, a role he created on the Mary Tyler Moore show and reprised in his own show called only Lou Grant. Ed won seven Emmy awards, more than any other male actor, and is the only actor to win an Emmy for his work in both a sitcom and a Drama series – for playing the same role. A famously outspoken rebel who has always been courageously true his beliefs and often paid a heavy price for his courage, Ed Asner is still poster child for true north. Spontaneous, open, guile-less; with Ed – what you see is what there is, and that is terrific. Listen to this funny, interesting man talk about his life and his work, his dogged commitment to being the best he can be and his dedication to bettering the lives of those less fortunate than himself.

11-28-17 Interview
12/19/17 and 12/26/17 Parts 1 & 2. The irrepressible, outrageous, talented, generous and at 82 (he is actually 88 now) still sexy and still acting, Ed Asner. Best known for his portrayal of the curmudgeonly Lou Grant, a role he created on the Mary Tyler Moore show and reprised in his own show called only Lou Grant. Ed won seven Emmy awards, more than any other male actor, and is the only actor to win an Emmy for his work in both a sitcom and a Drama series – for playing the same role. A famously outspoken rebel who has always been courageously true his beliefs and often paid a heavy price for his courage, Ed Asner is still poster child for true north. Spontaneous, open, guile-less; with Ed – what you see is what there is, and that is terrific. Listen to this funny, interesting man talk about his life and his work, his dogged commitment to being the best he can be and his dedication to bettering the lives of those less fortunate than himself.

11-28-17 Interview
11-28-17 In my 500th show I am airing an interview with dancer, singer, actor and Broadway director/choreographer Josh Rhodes who is in Sarasota directing his sixth show for the Asolo Repertory Theater; the stand out production of Evita. Listen to this charming story of a man who was drawn to musicals as a 5 year old boy, who dedicated his life to becoming the very best performer he could possibly be and was rewarded for his talent and his diligence with the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Choreography, and the Astaire Award as well as nominations for the Drama Desk and LA Critics Circle Awards and a career in which he never had to have a straight job!

12-12-17 Part – 2 In this second part of my interview, Wayne Adams continues to relate his remarkable life. Listen to him describe his delightful meeting with legendary acting teacher Maggie Flannigan; and how his production of Ralph Pape’s Say Goodnight, Gracie directed by Austin Pendleton, resulted in his determination to bring Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company to Broadway; first in the production of True West with John Malkovich and Gary Sinise and then in the Lincoln Center production of And a Nightingale Sang with , Joan Allen. Wayne says “I’m interested in being the human being that I am,” and he reminds us that “life is taking chances, not doing what someone else thinks you should do but doing from yourself honestly according to your own instincts.” Listen and be inspired.

12-5-17 – Part 1 – Actor, Director, Broadway Producer, Lighting Designer, Art Gallery Owner waiter, server in an upscale tie store and more, octogenarian Wayne Adams did everything with passion, commitment and panache. Adopted by an extraordinary couple who wanted him to experience everything and encouraged him to “be himself, and to take responsibility for everything he attempted,” Wayne has done just that. A musician, an artist and an actor.As a boy, Wayne majored in commercial design and minored in history of architecture at Ohio University, and although he never took a “theater course” he was in 11 productions during his four years at school with the result that when he graduated he knew that after his mandated stint in the air force he would go off to NY to pursue a career as an actor. Listen to the remarkable diverse jobs he tackled – all with the same commitment to excellence and hear how he discovered “what it really means to be an actor.”

11-21-17 Interview
11-21-17 Judy Renaud always knew that she was meant to sing. But, like many others, she “folded” to her family’s desire that she pursue something that would guarantee her security. And although she spent years working and raising her family, she never surrendered her dream. At 50 she decided that it was her time to finally pursue that dream. She worked with many people including well known jazz performers Madeline Eastman, Mark Murphy and Diane Schuur. All taught her things she needed to know and encouraged her to keep singing. With her husband, jazz musician and singer Tom Renaud, she has been entertaining people in clubs for years. Then she went into Spirit Ranch Studio and with legendary engineer Bud Snyder and the remarkably talented Eddie Tobin, who was Engelbert Humperdinck’s pianist, musical director and conductor, on piano, recorded 36 songs which she packaged into 3 separate CD’s Having just released the 3rd of these CD’s Judy has accomplished her goal. Listen to this charming, funny, guileless woman describe her life journey, and the serious learning curve required when making a CD. Listen to several cuts from her most recent CD.

11-7-17 Peter Bogyo thought he was an actor and diligently pursued that career, but the experience of producing a play convinced him that his natural talents and inclinations lead in another direction. He began to explore the area of managing, instead of acting, in a show. First becoming a company manager and then creating a huge track record as a general manager of Broadway and off-Broadway shows. Peter has worked with Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Kevin Spacey, Richard Dreyfus, Sir Alan Bates, Dame Eileen Atkins, Carol Burnett, and Cicely Tyson and the recording he produced of the concert version of “Anyone Can Whistle” at Carnegie Hall with Angela Lansbury, was nominated for a Grammy® Award. But Peter is always evolving and having taken a hiatus from his work as a general manager, he turned his talents to writing and has just published his first book – Broadway General Manager: Demystifying the Most Important and Least Understood Role in Show Business. Listen to this charming, funny, interesting man describe his ability to ‘switch horses mid- stream’, and discover that he is really a “fish.”

10-17-18 The multi-talented Carole Schweid began taking dance classes at six and continued studying through the grueling program at Julliard. But by then she had already discovered her interest in and talent for acting and singing, and her passion for plays. Listen to the delightful story of how she got her first Broadway show – Minnie’s Boys, and the life changing experience of being part of the company of the iconic show A Chorus Line. But performing was not enough for Carole and in addition to raising her two sons, Carole and her partner Nancy Diamond created the hugely-successful Play with Your Food, a truly unique theater experience, and the basis for her newly published book Staged Readings – Magic. Listen to Carole’s funny, charming, disarming story, hear her describe how she went from someone who was “dancing from the minute she could walk,” to the singer, actor, writer, director, choreographer, producer, and author she became.

8-15-17 Kim Crow is a working professional actress/writer and director in theatre, broadcast television, film and commercials. She was nominated for an Emmy for her work in ‘Echoes from the Holocaust’ and a Florida Arts & Culture Individual Artist grant award winner and was Co-founder of Twickenham Repertory Company (1979) now celebrating its 34th season as “Theatre Huntsvile. She is a member of Actor’s Equity, AFTRA/SAG, and ISDN. As a voice actress her voice-over skills are internationally recognized, most notably she is affectionately known to US Defense airplanes pilots as ‘Bitching Betty.” Hers was the first voice ever to be digitized and was the first used in US Defense and NASA applications, including the F-15, F-16, F-18 and AVAB, as well as the STS (Space Shuttle). Listen to this charming, talented woman describe her certainty in the eighth grade that she not only wanted to be an actress, but most particularly a “classical actress.” Listen to the charming story she tells of the moment she told her mother what she wanted to be when she grew up. And come to see her touching, perfect portrayal of Coral the steely matriarch with the heart of gold in Stephen Spotswood’s poignant play Doublewide, now playing at Florida Studio Theater.

8-8-17 Interview
8-8-17 Actor, singer, songwriter, cabaret performer and playwright Amanda McBroom is best known for writing “The Rose” for which she won a Golden Globe Award and which was a number one hit all over the world for Bette Midler. Amanda then recorded it as did Amy Poehler, Jack Black, Barry Manilow, Judy Collins, Barbara Cook, LeAnn Rimes, Anne Murray, Harry Belafonte, Betty Buckley, Stephanie Mills, The Manhattan Transfer, Donny Osmond, Kurt Cobain, Nana Mouskouri, Conway Twitty and the Chipmunks. With her friend and longtime collaborator Michele Brourman, Amanda has written the lyrics for the Baby Dinosaurs in all of the 16 Universal Cartoon Series The Land Before Time. She’s written two original musicals Heartbeats based on her songs and Woman of Will, based on the female characters in William Shakespeare’s plays. She is currently releasing VOICES, her sixth recording on Gecko, the label she established in 1985. Listen to this exuberant, delightful, outrageous woman talk about creating a life filled with music, art, animals, and gardens; a perfect example of creativity in action

8-1-17 Even in the 2nd grade Jeff Plunkett didn’t want just to read the story in class – he wanted to act it. To deal with his chronic ear infections Jeff’s doctor prescribed voice lessons and from the time he was 13 he not only studied voice but had small roles in his voice teachers Opera Company. Although majoring in biology/psychology in college (thinking he might become a doctor), Jeff took every acting role he could and by the time he graduated knew that acting, not medicine was his path. Listen to this thoughtful, intelligent man talk about what it means to be an actor and describe his role in Florida Studio Theater’s current production of The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelky. Jeff says that he was “graced’ but I think it is we who are graced by being able to watch this extraordinary actor become all the remarkably distinct roles in this extraordinary play

8-2-16 Interview
2-25-17 Jack of many trades and master of each Bill Oser is very difficult to characterize. Having fallen in love with show tunes as a toddler, been cast in professional productions at nine and scored his equity card at sixteen, Bill spent much of his life “treading the boards.” But one identity would never be enough for Bill. Listen to this exuberant, eclectic man describe a very unusual life and read his theater reviews on talkin Broadway

7-18-17 Brendon Fox was always interested in music, theater and literature, but it was in Jr. High School that he had the experiences which would define the rest of his life – listen to Brendon describe his father’s moving response to his performance. As much as he liked acting Brendon discovered that he also really liked directing – hear him describe the curious and serendipitous way his directing career got its start. Brendon’s path took him from Northwestern University to the Old Globe Theater in San Diego, then to Los Angeles and a Masters in Directing at UCLA, and a teaching position at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training in Sarasota FL where he directed a production of The Aliens. After four years away Brendon is back directing Alan Ayckbourn’s Relatively Speaking – the first production of the Conservatory’s Dog Days of Summer.

7-11-17 Interview
7-11-17 Singer, dancer, actor Michael Mendez thought he was going to be a Doctor. He never intended to be a performer, he just loved to sing and wanted to get better and better at it. So when he learned that the theater “needed males” and was offered a role in A Chorus Line, he said yes – thinking it would strengthen him as a singer. Having no dance training he was completely unprepared for the dancing required, but Michael always wants to be “going for growth” so he just learned all the routines. And that was just the beginning. Listen to Michael describe his journey from a boy who just loved to sing, to the young man who aspires to learn every medium, performing in every way he can. And come see him in Black on Broadway, now playing at the West Coast Black Theater Troupe.

6-13/20-17 Actor, director, singer, dancer Michael Marotta knew from the age of seven what he wanted to do. He can still feel the intense pleasure he got from his first role as Santa, which he got because he was the only child who could memorize the names of all the reindeer. And watching the movie Tea for Two over and over on the Million Dollar Movie cemented his certainty that performing was his path. Having decided very early in life what he was meant to do Michael has never wavered. When you see him in Burt and Me, currently playing at Florida Studio Theater, you can see that he made the right decision. Listen to this charming, talented man talk about a life dedicated to bringing pleasure to audiences, while doing what he loves. And get a preview of some of the Burt Bacharach songs you will hear in the show

6-6-17 Writer, director, producer, educator Bradley Battersby Part 2.
In part 1 of our interview Brad he talked about his career as a film maker, in Part 2 he talks about his career as an educator. Although he never considered teaching, when he was unexpectedly invited to teach a class in ‘directing your first film’ at the Maine Photographic Workshop he said yes and discovered that he not only liked teaching, he was good at it. In the years that followed he taught at the UCLA Extension, the LA Film School, Chapman University, the Idyllwild Arts Academy and his Alma mater AFI. Then, hoping to check out the digital media curriculum at Ringling School of Art and Design, he applied for the position as head of their Film School. Listen to the hilarious way in which he tried to convince Larry Thomson out of having a Film School at Ringling at all. Fortunately he failed and under Brad’s direction the Film School went from 9 students to 130 students, and is ranked sixtieth of twenty-five in the Hollywood Reporter List of Film Schools. Listen to this passionate, dedicated man describe his ambitious plans for the growth of the school and his commitment to treat each student’s needs, he says “no one falls through the cracks at Ringling.” Also hear him tell the ironic story of how he discovered he was Variety’s Film School Mentor of the year.

4-18-17 Having spent years working on stage, film and TV, and as one of the principle members of the prestigious Westport Theatre Group, actor, director, playwright, author, and educator E Katherine Kerr has recently brought her talents and skills to Sarasota. Katherine maintains that as a girl from Indiana, with no exposure to theater and no formal training, she should never have become an actor. Listen to the hilarious story of the first time she was on a stage and how it convinced her to never step foot on a stage again. But time after time she was placed on stage until she recognized that it was the place she was meant to be. And having accepted that she was an actor, hear her tell how she was discovered by her idol Mike Nichols, and the extraordinary career that followed where she shared stage and screen with stars like Meryl Streep and Cher.

3-28-17 Johnny Epstein has had a long career as a Shakespearian Player and acting teacher. Although he knew from age 7 that he was comfortable on stage – when he spontaneously adlibbed to cover a fellow student missed cue – it was a series of unplanned and unintended actions and comments that lead him to realize that acting was his career. To help him overcome a fear of water his parents sent him to Tuffs Magic Circle summer day camp because campers were encouraged to swim and, by the way, spent the mornings doing theater. Johnny spent 3 years there enjoying doing plays but did not think of acting as a “profession.” Following his first performance in a Shakespeare play (As You Like it) the shop teacher a “plain man with little exposure to Shakespeare” said “I saw that As You Like it – you’re a great actor – is this going to be your profession” This was the first time Johnny considered of acting as a profession. Listen to this knowledgeable, articulate man describe the ironic way he got his first role on Broadway and talk about his life, the work of acting, and the upcoming production of Midsummer Night’s Dream– performed by his class of 2nd year graduate students at the FSU Conservatory for Acting Training.